Vladimir Putin Says He Does Not Have 'Reliable Information' On Chechnya Gay Persecution

By

On Top Magazine Staff

|
April 15, 2017

A spokesman for Russian President
Vladimir Putin has denied reports that authorities in Chechnya are
persecuting men suspected of being gay.

Russian newspaper Novaya Gaceta
broke the story, reporting earlier this month that more than 100
people have been detained and three killed in the anti-gay campaign,
including several well-known local television personalities and
religious figures.

According to the
AP, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday told journalist that
he does “not have any reliable information about any problems in
this area.”

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has
denied the newspaper's claims, saying through a spokesman that there
were no gay men in Chechnya and if there were, their relatives “would
send them somewhere from which there is no returning,” a reference
to honor killings.

Several international organizations and
the United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights have called on
Russia to investigate the reports of abuse.

Chechnya is a Muslim-majority republic
of Russia that attempted to gain its independence from Moscow in the
1990s.